The Drop Bag is stocked with Active Pursuit reading to enjoy at the finish line of your day, or a coffee break serving as the equivalent of an endurance event aid station. The name refers to the drop bags that competitors use to get their post-race necessities from the start line to the finish line of point-to-point races. Look for it as a mid-week feature on The Active Pursuit.

Race fee insurance: Active.com has launched a new form of insurance that reimburses athletes for their race fees if they have to pull out of an event for certain reasons. Dan Empfield shares the details in this piece on Slowtwitch.

Myths and realities of compression gear: Writing for the Washington Post, Lenny Bernstein analyzes the research on compression gear, one of the latest fads in fitness. He finds research backing the idea that compression tights and socks do aid in recovery, but not performance. “The bottom line: For runners who buy four pairs of $120 shoes at a time, invest in compression garments for recovery — they won’t hurt,” Pete McCall, exercise physiologist for the nonprofit American Council on Exercise, told me in an e-mail. “If budget is a concern, take a cold bath and use ice for recovery. It will be more cost-effective.”

Wheel & Sprocket spreads out: One of Wisconsin’s most popular bike shops will cross the border early next year and open a store in Evanston, Ill., replacing Ten 27 cycles in the college town. The Evanston Review shared this quote from Ten 27 owner Chris Mailing: “I am glad that Wheel & Sprocket is going to continue the long tradition of serving the cycling needs of Evanston and the cycling community of the greater Chicago area from 1027 Davis Street. I am thrilled that so many of the staff from Ten 27 Cycles, including me, are able to be a part of this new shop.”

Bikes added to traffic signals: More than a dozen cities in the U.S. have added bicycle-specific signals to their traffic lights, in an effort to make cycling safer. The signals give cyclists a head start on traffic, and in particular prevent collisions when a motorist is turning right and a cyclist is going straight. Among the cities adding the green bike shapes: Austin, Denver, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. Click here for the full story from USA Today.

Running against Act 168: Ultra runner Jason Dorgan wrote a compelling argument against the expansion of hunting in state parks, included in the Sporting Heritage Bill signed into law in April. His piece in Silent Sports Magazine included this assessment: “Until this law was enacted, the DNR opened many areas of state parks to hunting but not trapping. Now all park lands will be open to hunting and trapping unless specifically closed by the DNR or NRB at its December meeting. This legal overreaching was done with so little forethought or regard for the majority of park users. I just hope a consequence of the hunting and trapping lobby’s success is a more vocal and demanding silent sports constituency.”